


my heart is telling me that the telly isn't telling me anything

by buckybunnyteeth



Series: Flashvibe week(s) 2k16 [13]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Celebrity, M/M, fvsummer2016
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-27
Updated: 2016-08-27
Packaged: 2018-08-11 08:10:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7883392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buckybunnyteeth/pseuds/buckybunnyteeth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Barry is certain that Iris must have superpowers. It’s the only way to explain why he is at Cochella handing out pamphlets on how to stop culturally appropriating with Iris and Linda, so close to when they are due back on set. Either Iris has super powers or he is currently stuck in a coma dream.</p><p> </p><p>Flashvibe Summer 2016; Day 6; Crossover day</p>
            </blockquote>





	my heart is telling me that the telly isn't telling me anything

“Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.”  
― Confucius, The Book of Rites

 

Barry is certain that Iris must have superpowers. It’s the only way to explain why he is at Cochella handing out pamphlets on how to stop culturally appropriating with Iris and Linda, so close to when they are due back on set. Either Iris has super powers or he is currently stuck in a coma dream.

He sighs and gives another flustered white girl a smile as she tries to justify her head dress. She obviously gets that he doesn’t care about her excuses and then stomps off with her equally as offensive friends. At least none of them recognised him. It’s probably the hat, glasses, tank top combo. Iris herself is donning a pink pixie cut wig and Linda … well Linda looks exactly like always but she’s not the kind of person who would wear a disguise. 

Barry had at first been adamant that they didn’t need to wear any disguises, that their show may be popular, but that didn’t mean they were going to be swamped. And then Iris showed him a graph of exactly how popular The Fastest Man Alive is, and pointed out that she just wanted a weekend alone with her best friend and girlfriend and Barry crumbled. And now he is grateful. So far no paparazzi have spotted them and only one fan has recognised them enough to ask for a photo, and they were nice about it so Barry didn’t mind.

Still, Cochella isn’t really his scene. Some of the music he likes, some of it he really likes. But that doesn’t negate the fact that it’s a thousand degrees out and so dry and dusty you can’t escape it anywhere you go no matter now you try. Even now as the sun sets and the searing light dims it’s still muggy and dry. Barry hates the heat. They film in Canada and live in Central City, and he escapes to the east coast whenever he can. Heat like this is something he isn’t used to.

But Iris is grinning ear to ear so … yeah he can get over it.

Jesse comes running up to them, laden with drinks and fewer pamphlets then when she left. 

“We’d better hot foot it guys!” she pants when she gets to them, “Vibe will be playing ten minutes.”

“Vibe?” Iris asks voice obviously excited and very high pitched, “I thought they couldn’t make it!”

“They got a replacement drummer or something, flew them in just so they could make todays performance,” Jesse says just as excited.

Iris squeals. Before Barry can ask who Vibe are Iris grabs one of his hands and starts to bolt in the direction of the farthest tent. They catch up to Linda coming out of one of the food stalls and she gets swept up too.

“Jesse quick!” Linda calls behind them, already stuffing onion rings in her mouth, “We’re losing her!”

“I’ll find you!” Jesse calls back, not actually far behind them, “In any universe I’ll find you!”

“Jesse!”

“Linda!”

They both dissolve into giggles and are still laughing when they reach the tent. They get up to the barrier by sheer luck, and Iris actually jump’s while the squeals when she sees the banner hanging up on the empty stage.

“Oh my god!” she says and shakes Barry to convey her excitement, “Oh my god, Barry! Oh my god!”

“Okay!” Barry demands, more laughter than sharpness in his voice, “Someone had better tell me who these guys are and why we just ran like freaking Naruto to get here.”

“Vibe,” Jesse says simply, “They’re like the biggest indie band of the year.”

“I’ve never heard of them.”

“Yes you have, Bear,” Linda says, still eating, and rolls her eyes at him, “Iris plays them in her trailer all the time. They only have one album and she plays it on a loop.”

“If they’re so new how are they playing on a stage like this at Cochella, after Drake?”

“Media coverage,” Jesse continues sagely, “They got featured on a few news stories, were taped at San Francisco Pride, and it got them radio play and junk. They’re popular among young people for their lyrics and progressiveness.”

“Jesse you are a young people.”

She rolls her eyes up at him and snags an onion ring from Linda.

“I know, and I love them. Plus on top of all that their makeup is four girls and one guy.”

“Which is uncommon for a popular band,” Linda picks up from her, “Usually it’s all dudes, or just one girl.”

Barry squints at them.

“You sound like you’re reciting scientific fasts not telling me about a cool band.”

They both send significant looks at Iris.

“Ah. I get it.”

They stand there as the crowd fills up and the setting sun dims so the world is equally full of blue and gold light. Iris’s excitement has slowly bled into the rest of the, and now Barry feels himself jittering with excitement. 

A quick Google search had told him ore about this band. They had gained social attention after they, as a group called out a label that had tried to sign them. They were going to be marketed as a ‘not straight’ band and their sexualities would be used in the bulk of their publicity to appeal to today’s youth. Simultaneously that record company refused to address the homophobic actions of some of their already signed bands. This drew attention to them and their already fiercely loyal fan base doubled over night. Seems they had no trouble drawing in today’s youth all on their own merit. 

Barry could respect that. And if the reviews of their work were any indication their songs were the very best of a new category just for them. The emotional turmoil of the early 2000’s punk scene without the overall clichés, paired with total acceptance of new technology in music and old, an amazing ability to pair heavy instruments with almost total silence, and lyrics that speak to people on an intrinsic and poetic level. The lead singer himself was being compared to Freddy Mercury in terms of skill and stage presence, a compliment he wouldn’t accept it seems, and the other three members were world class, unparalleled in skill. They sounded like the band equivalent of a perfect storm. 

Barry prepared to make his own judgments as the lights on stage went on, the banner displaying a flock of canaries ripping apart a snake illuminated, and the crowd began to “whoo” in excitement as the walk on music began.

Iris grabbed Barry’s arm tightly and whisper screamed in his ear.

“Oh my god Barry, I’ve never seen them live before! Tell me I’m not dreaming!”

Barry laughed at her, just as a woman with dark skin and wearing a leather jacket strolled out and began to drum a beat. Her whole demeanour changed when she started playing, going from serious to almost irreverent. She was really in her element up there.

“Oh that’s Shawna!” Iris told him, “She’s drums and she sings back up on some songs too.”

Following her was a slightly older athletic looking blond woman who strolled up to the front of the stage and picked up a heavy black guitar that said ‘reformed assassin’ across the body. She turned to nod to Shawna and the seriousness in her face shifted to something that made her eyes sparkle. 

“Sara. Bass guitar and primary backing vocals. She was in a band under the label League of Assassins, but they were seriously abusive,” Iris filled in, “That’s what the guitar is about. She’s also in a band with her sister and girlfriend; The Birds of Prey.”

“You really like these guys don’t you?”

“Shush! Oh- That’s Kendra! Keyboards and mixing, and all those technical things.”

A tall woman with a wide smile and a blonde streak through her curly brown hair jumps onto stage with a wave, making her already present band mates laugh. She strides over to the opposite end of the stage as Sara and spends a long time waving and blowing kisses at the people do the same at her. From here Barry can see two big tattoos reaching out from under her tank top. Big, reaching, Hawk wings.

After her another athletic woman strolls out and picks up a red guitar with a panther painted on the front, stalking around the strings. Her long hair was caught back in braids and around her neck was a necklace of stark white bone that stood out against her dark skin. She looked out at the crowd and smirked, playful and knowing, as she started to play. Effortlessly and skilfully, as if she were born to play.

“Mari McCabe,” Iris squeals, physically jumping now, “She’s also in Birds of Prey, everyone calls her Vixen. She is ranked among the best in the world on guitar… I’m kind of in love with her.”

Linda snorts next to them.

“I’m down if you are,” she drawls and okay Barry really doesn’t need to hear this.

The music picks up and the last member of the band sprints out on to the stage. 

Barry instantly feels the bottom drop out of his stomach. Or maybe his heart exploded.

The man runs out on stage and right up the front, the black curls of his hair fluffed up around his face, and his wide, beaming grin. Someone, someone sent by god surly, has streaked shimmering highlighter across his cheekbones, making brown skin illuminate in the setting sunlight. He’s wearing only a pair of black jeans and a floral, fringed, semi see through shall. The skin of his chest and stomach are on full display between the part on the fabric, and Barry sees the start of a tattoo over the waist band of his jeans. The cameras zoom in on him and on the big screen Barry can see that he’s also wearing body glitter.

Barry almost says, ‘lord have mercy’ out loud. It’s a near miss.

“Who-?” his lips struggle to form words, “Who is that?”

Iris sends him a wide knowing smile.

“That,” she starts, obviously taking pleasure in this, “Is Cisco Ramon. Lead singer. He and Shawna are the founding members … he’s bi you know.”

“Oh. That’s um-oh.”

Iris laughs and turns away so she and Linda can hold each other’s hands in readiness to dance. 

Up on stage Cisco takes a moment and swirls around like Stevie Nicks before he gets to the microphone, making the rest of his band mates laugh and roll their eyes. Then he wraps his really very nice hands around the microphone and they launch in to their first song. 

Its good. Really good. A radio friendly song that has an underlying edge and gravel too it, and enough dramatic guitar and drums to appease the casual listener. It’s both a commercial song and not at the same time, and from what Barry can tell about the lyrics it’s about the song writers coming out experience. 

They play one more song, this one more angry and hard edged, the kind of song the radio wouldn’t touch unless it was a top selling single, and then they stop to talk to the crowd.

“Hows everybody doing, are you good?” Cisco calls out at the crowd in a breathless cheer filled voice, “How are you liking Cochella?”

The crowd screams back and he laughs.

“How are you liking my outfit?” he asks swishing the pinkish shall around, “I think the peeps back stage intended it for the lovely Miss Sara Lance, on Base guitar!”

The crowd cheers and Sara chuckles into her microphone.

“Not my style, but it suits you, Paco.”

“Yeah,” Kendra says next, “I don’t think they really knew us. My outfit had feathers.”

“You couldn’t even call mine an outfit,” Mari continues for her, “They wanted me out here in my birthday suit. In floral print.”

“If they knew us they’d know Paco’s the only one of us who dresses like a basic white girl,” Shawna drawls and dose a punch line drum beat, making Cisco laugh and call out ‘don’t knock my glow, girl!’.

“But you guys know us, right?” Cisco calls and the crowd cheers, deafeningly loud and the band launches into another song, this one more energised. Cisco jumps around the stage and interacts with both the crowd and the rest of the band, and it’s all effortless. Not like the forced act some band put up. These people are actually having fun. 

Half way through the set the rest of the band leaves the stage, leaving Cisco and Kendra to do a slow piano driven song called ‘Open Your Eyes’ that has the whole crowd mystified. Barry swears that during it Cisco looks out at the crowd and they lock eyes. It makes him breathless, but the moment is over as quickly as it came. 

The rest of the band comes back, hydrated again, and they launch into their final two songs. They finish with what must be their most popular song because the whole crowd screams along with it, filling the whole tent with crackling energy as they give it their all.

It ends, they leave and the roadies come on to prepare for the next band and Barry feels … empty. 

Iris looks much the same. Flushed and happy and sad that its over.

“Guys!” Jesse calls, having dashed off somewhere moments before, “Come on!”

“What ‘ve you done, Jess?” Linda asks fondly, “You didn’t start a fight with another security jerk did you?”

“Just come on!”

They follow the grinning Jesse with a communal shrug and are surprised when she leads them to the entrance to the back stage area … and they get waved through.

“Jesse?” Iris asks wearily, “What did you do?”

“I just asked nicely if we could go back and see the band and I told them about the show and apparently they’re fans so now we’re going to meet them.”

From the look on Iris’s face if she wasn’t so shocked she would be screaming.

Before she can recover though, they are lead back into a room and- and there they are. They stare at each other and there is an awkward moment where nobody speaks before Kendra laughs and comes over to shakes Iris’s hand and tell her how inspired by her she is. Iris very nearly explodes with happiness and shock.

Barry smiles at the exchange at at the sound of a chuckle looks up-

-right into Cisco’s smiling eyes.

“Kendra and Mari have a bit of a thing for her,” he tells Barry conspiratorially.

“I uh, think it might be mutual.”

Cisco laughs an honest sun beam of a laugh and extends his hand to him. After Barry pulls his mind away from being fixated on the shine of the highlighter on Cisco’s face, he takes it and introduces himself. 

“Cisco.”

“Barry.”

“Yeah, I kind of knew that,” Cisco looks almost bashful, “I’m kind of a mega fan of your show, dude.”

Barry blushes, taken aback. 

“Really?” Barry asks, brain to mouth filter gone, “I-I mean, I’m a fan too. Of your music, not the show. Not that I dislike the show-!”

Cisco laughs again and he had better stop because Barry is going to get addicted to that sound very fast. 

“You’re a dork.”

Barry’s eyes widen and Cisco quickly looks paniced when he realises what he said.

“In a good way! I mean I’m a dork too, just look at me.”

“I have been.”

They both stare at each other as blushes overtake their faces.

“Oh-”

“I’m sorry that was-”

“I’m flattered-”

“I didn’t mean too-”

“Would you like to get dinner with me?”

Barry draws up short at the question. He briefly fills with indescribable happiness at the thought of going out to dinner with this gorgeous man, and then promptly deflates.

“I can’t we have to be back at the set by morning.”

“Oh.”

Silence reigns between them. And then Sara cuts in, rolls her eyes at their sad puppy dog eyes, and scrolls a number on Barry’s bear arm with her sharpie.

“Call him,” she orders a him, “We’ll be in Vancouuver next month.” She turns to the rest of the band, “We have to roll out if we want to make it to the studio by tomorrow morning.”

The band nods and start to make their goodbyes. Except for Barry. And Except for Cisco. They just stand their locked in some kind of trance. Some kind mutual instant ... crush, for a lack of a better word. Barry can feel it crackling in the air between them.

“I’ll call you,” Barry promises.

“You’d better,” Cisco jokes, though his face is still heated, “Or I’ll put you in a song.”

“What would it be about?”

“Oh, how I failed a flirting with a famous guy and managed to embarrass a whole room full of people.”

That startles a belly laugh out of Barry and Cisco’s face lights up.

“Just answer me one question before you go.”

“Shoot.”

“You didn’t know who we were before today did you?”

Barry grimaces and Cisco’s face goes soft. He obviously gets his answer from there.

“Yep,” Cisco declares, “it’s official. You’re a dork.”

“A dork with a chance?”

“A dork with a shoe in.”

Barry grins, and somewhere behind him Linda makes gagging noises while Iris giggles. Its perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> this is so much longer than it was meant to be and i am so sick today its probs riddled with spelling errors but i will deal with that after a nap. i may have to make this au a proper fic. tell me what you think.
> 
> and if you want to know what its crossed over with its a fic I wrote last flashvibe week becasue I am so disgustingly sick i cant think straight. sorry its cheating but I dont care at the mo anyay.


End file.
